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Gareki is a lean young man of average height with short, messy black hair and olive eyes. In the anime, he has blue eyes. He is noted to be quite a handsome young man, often proven by the admiring gaze of passerby females. He himself, however, does not seem to care much about his appearance and even seems oblivious to it. He does, however, hate it when Yogi tries to dress him up in Nyanperowna outfits.

He usually wears a pair of goggles on his head slanted to the side, which he got from Tsubaki's grandfather. He often wears 3 quarter shorts and skin tight shirts or tank tops. In most official art, he typically wears pink. In the first episode, Gareki is seen wearing a long blue hoodie that reaches his knees, a black zipped-up shirt, red pants with shoes, and black gloves. In Kuronomei, Gareki properly wears the uniform, and the school gym uniform when he's not in class.

Gareki has had a poor childhood but has also been shown to be very intelligent. Though he is only 15 years old, he is highly knowledgeable in technological fields. At present, he is secretly observing the original machinery structure and systems inside the Circus ships. He also thinks of investigating the Sheep, or Hitsuji, sooner or later. He likes to read books of practical knowledge that he is interested in and has the habit of falling asleep in the position that he reads. He speaks informally to everyone and is often blunt or cold in his replies. When Nai first met him, he only distinguished people through three categories: scum, prey, or enemies (to him, Nai was "prey" at their first encounter).

Gareki does not trust others easily because he grew up in a poor environment. Even as a child he constantly went out by himself. He does it for the sake of fulfilling his own desires and needs. However, he has a soft spot for women and children, especially Nai, and loathes the idea of hurting them. He also hates killing, and tries to avoid it as much as possible. Because he used to be a thief, he is sneaky and clever. He is used to faking smiles and putting on 'good boy' acts. He is uncomfortable with the idea of becoming close to other people, and still does not consider Nai or anyone at Circus his friends, although his secret attachment and protectiveness suggests otherwise. He also feels strange for thinking that the Circus ship is home, which is shown when he reluctantly says "I'm home" when first coming back to the Circus ship.

Gareki has a tough attitude and hides his sentimentality. Even when Yotaka and Tsubaki died, he did not cry, but bottled in his sadness, causing others to worry when he would shut himself up in his room for long periods of time. As he grows closer to Nai, Yogi, and Tsukumo, he starts to show more and more emotions. Eventually he becomes frustrated at his own weaknesses, even crying for the first time in front of Yogi, and voluntarily goes to a school which raises recruits for Circus: Kuronomei. Yogi, Nai, and Tsukumo gave him gifts, to which he awkwardly accepted. Nai and Yogi yell after him that he has to come back because the Second Ship is his home, causing him to secretly cry in happiness.

He also shows a large competitive streak and would even give his life to win. This is frequently shown in Kuronomei where, reunited with Tsubame, he often competes against her to see who will do best in class.

He secretly cares about people, even though he hides it. Although he is quite protective of Nai, he tries to pretend he's not. He also tells Tsukomo not to worry for him because he doesn't want her to feel bad. He wants to protect people without them caring for him. Underneath his hard exterior, he is very caring and gentle. He is also bothered when he realizes he can't protect everyone (when Jiki provokes him in episode 10 and asks Hirato to allow him to go to Kuronomei).

When showered with affection, Gareki (metaphorically) puffs up like a cat and lashes out to hide his embarrassment. He wanted to die when Iva carried him and threatened to kiss him, beats up Yogi all the time for hugging him, and even punched Nai for holding his hand and describing his aura as "warm."

Gareki is highly wary of settling down and finding a place that he can call 'home'. This is shown in his reluctance to say "I'm home" to the sheep when returning to the Second Ship, though he later grows used to it. Soon after his first arrival to the Circus Ship, he becomes very attached to it and to the people there. His decision to enter Kuronomei's Circus program was so that he could strengthen himself to protect himself and others so that he could deserve to stay on the ship. After he willingly drops out to go find Nai, he is still determined to be useful to Circus and decides to go into Kuronomei's mechanics program since Circus often has much high-tech equipment. Tokitatsu, however, had other plans for him and suggested that he become the first Combat Physician, one who could both fight on par with Circus members and have high medical knowledge at the same time to treat the wounded directly on the battlefield. Tokitatsu coaxingly adds that if he was able to accomplish becoming the first Combat Physician, then "the ship will become your home," convincing Gareki to join Kuronomei's medical arts course.

Gareki was sold by his parents as a slave when he was eight years old. He was put on a slave trading ship where, because he was the smallest, was picked on frequently. The other children would abuse him and tie him up so he could not get his two meals a day. However, this allowed him to realize that their captors had been drugging the food and drinks, which was likely a medication that would turn the children into Varuga. Soon. Gareki noticed the other kids going insane. Shortly after they began to go insane, the ship ran into a storm and was destroyed (unbeknownst to him, it was Hirato and Tsukitachi who destroyed the ship on a mission.) He barely escaped with his life and drifted ashore to Karasuna. Gareki walked inland to find food and collapsed from exhaustion before he was found by a young woman named Tsubaki who took him to her little village. She claimed it was because she had a younger brother and sister about his age.

Depending on the version of the anime or manga you're watching or reading, Gareki has stated, "Actually, they weren't my real parents" or "Well, they were like my parents," suggesting adoptive or foster parents had sold him.

Tsubaki took him in and gave him the name "Gareki" when he said that he had no name. She added him into her family of four, which included her younger twin siblings, Tsubame and Yotaka, and Grandfather. He lived with them for a period of time, often spending time tinkering with scraps of metal. During this time, he grew to care for them and wanted to find a way - legal or not - to repay them. Later on, Tsubaki fell in love with a man affiliated with Kafka, named Meiga, who gave her "nutritional supplements" for the twins which she mixed into their food. Meiga is responsible for the deaths of Tsubaki and Yotaka. Gareki strongly advised her "I'll do something about the money, so don't see that guy anymore!" because he didn't trust him or the 'supplements', and even Yotaka had begun to suspect something. Tsubaki was touched by his kindness but refused, saying that if it was just her then she couldn't protect her family. Tsubaki was later killed by Yotaka, who had taken most of the nutritional supplements to protect Tsubame. Unfortunately, the first time he transformed into a Varuga he went insane and Tsubaki jumped in to try to help him. After this, Gareki left the village to start his life of crime without telling anyone why. At one point, Yotaka went after him to convince him to come back but Gareki threatened him and told him to leave. Despite the bad memories it held, Gareki determinedly stayed in Karasuna. His real goal was to get enough money to pay for the grandfather's hospital fees, but he did not tell the twins of this goal, causing many misunderstandings between them. Gareki, however, considered it better this way as he would not have to worry about them getting hurt.

Gareki joined a band of thieves and began to rob corrupted people to pay off hospital bills for Tsubame's grandfather. (In the first chapter he is shown with two other guys- Gareki appeared to be in charge of the explosives for breaking and entering.) Whether or not he is really rich is not clear, because he definitely gave a large amount to support the sickly old man. He gained street smarts and became a micro-expert in the field of explosives. It was during one of these plunders at Mine's Mansion that he met Nai.

He's very intelligent and sharp; his strong point being his knowledge of mechanics as he was able to deactivate bombs or create one with gun powder. Due to being a thief, he has talented pick-pocketing and lock-picking skills. He is also adept at acting (when he's in the mood for it) and disguises. He also has intelligence in hacking as he was able to hack into Smoky Mansion's security system. Circus confiscated his cell phone because of all of the dangerous modifications he made to it.

After attending Kuronomei, his physical abilities increase drastically, especially his speed and jumping ability. Tsubame noted that even though Gareki had come to Kuronomei after her, he had already nearly surpassed her ability.

Originally, Gareki only considered Nai to be a burden and only got close to him to get his hands on Nai's Circus bracelet or to use him for his robbing schemes. As they spent more time together, Gareki became more fond of Nai and eventually became something akin to a babysitter, mostly because he had the tendency to order Nai to take care of himself more often. He tried to teach the pure Nai about how he has to get his hands dirty sometimes, but he gave up. He becomes rather protective of Nai and is still trying to help him find Karoku, despite the gain being minimal. When Nai tells Gareki about Karoku knowing that they were together, Gareki realizes that Karoku wants to keep him away from Nai. When Nai supposedly rejected any further need of Gareki, he was somewhat hurt, which manifested in irritation instead of sadness. They soon make up after a flustered interrogation initiated by Gareki, who felt embarrassed about his actions after finding out Nai's strange origin as a Niji-human hybrid.

In later chapters, his fondness for Nai becomes more prominent, such as when he appeals to the principal of Kuronomei and admits he would rather leave to find Nai than to keep going on with his school life as if nothing was wrong. When the two reunited, they were happy to see each other again.

Gareki acknowledges that both meeting Nai and Nai himself changed his life for the better, and told Nai that he has been seeing "beautiful things" ever since meeting him. He also admits that Nai makes him feel relaxed, and referred to him as "his good luck charm."

In Chapter 46, Gareki has a dream that the ghosts of Tsubaki and Yotaka are leading him somewhere. However, Nai appears in the dream and tries to lead him the other way, saying, "This way, Gareki" and "Tsubaki and Yotaka aren't there. Do your best in school and come back soon." The dream is interrupted as Shishi enters the room and wakes him. Earlier in the same chapter, Nai is seen having fallen asleep at Karoku's feet calling out "Gareki, over here!"

Initially, Gareki didn't like Yogi and did not at first consider Yogi a friend but instead a "person from Circus." He does, however, acknowledge that Yogi is strong and respects him for it. Yogi often attempts to play the part of a big brother to Gareki, but Gareki refuses to indulge him and be treated like a child. Despite his frigidity towards Yogi, Gareki was shown to be worried when Yogi was injured during a battle, calling out his name properly for the first time. He eventually comes to acknowledge Yogi as his comrade.

Yogi is also quite affectionate and likes to hug Gareki, who is irritated by this and often retaliates by either punching or kicking Yogi away. As time goes on, he becomes accustomed to it and doesn't fight back as violently. In Kuronomei, he tells Tsubame that he trusts both Yogi and Tsukumo to keep Nai safe, indicating he has a certain level of faith in Yogi.

Gareki often turns to Yogi with questions on several occasions. Since Yogi is typically very honest and open, Gareki gets miffed when Yogi avoids answering his questions or shows him a fake smile. However, when Yogi asks Gareki his relationship between Tsubame and Yotaka, Gareki hesitates for a moment, then tells him how he came to live with them. Yogi is also the first and only person to see Gareki cry, which was during the raid on Smokey Mansion when he thought Yogi was going to take him back to the ship. He said he realized that he might be a burden, but still begged Yogi to take him to the base of the rainbow to rescue Nai.

When Yogi and Nai accompany Gareki to Karasuna, Yogi sees a purple leather bracelet that he wants at a shooting gallery. After several failed attempts on Yogi's part to win the bracelet, Gareki snatches the gun and hits his mark on the first shot. He gives the bracelet to Yogi, who makes it a permanent part of his daily wardrobe.

In Chapter 26 of the manga, Yogi allows Gareki to use his phone to look for the information on the pasta shop Yanari is looking for. Gareki spends the rest of the afternoon playing games on it, until Yogi takes it back. After doing his "Sparkling Prince" speech for Yanari, Yogi becomes depressed when Yanari tells him it's not as good without the Nyanperowna costume. Gareki asks, "Are you depressed because of something a child told you?" and Yogi replies that he was just trying to look cool. Gareki changes the subject by asking if he can look in a folder on Yogi's phone, which in his depression, Yogi initially says "Yes." Realizing what he said, Yogi quickly tells him "No" and tries to take the phone back. Gareki teases Yogi by asking if there's something dirty in the folder and smiles at him. Yogi snatches the phone back insisting it's work related and he'd get in trouble if he lets Gareki see it. Yanari points out their arguing and asks Nai if they're friends, to which Nai answers "Yes." Gareki gives this same smile in Chapter 45 when Yogi sends him a text while he's eating with Ranji and Shishi. His two school mates are shocked by the expression, having never seen him smile, leading them to imagine the text is from a friend. However, he throws them off when he says the text is "annoying", but this is the first of Yogi's texts that he replies to.

Before Gareki left for Kuronomei, Yogi gave Gareki a stuffed Nyanperowna and told him to talk to "Talk to him as if you were talking to me" if he ever gets lonely. The stuffed toys Gareki recieved from Yogi, Nai, and Tsukumo before departing have not been shown again in the manga, so it is unknown if he actually does so.

In Chapter 78, when Gareki is sorting Hirato's books, he remembers the conversation he had with Tokitatsu and thinks to himself, "If I become a combat physician like that guy said, is it possible? The lives that are being taken away right before my eyes. Can I take them back or something like that?" Rather than Tsubaki or Yotaka, whom he's already lost due to Varuga, the reader is shown that Gareki is thinking of Yogi.

Silver Yogi:

Gareki first encounters Silver Yogi during a fight with Kagiri and Kiharu in Rinoll. He is startled by the change in the usually gentle Circus member and calls out to Yogi in his confusion of what's happening. Silver Yogi throws vines toward Gareki, but doesn't kill him. Instead, he cocoons him in the vines and protects him while fighting the two Power Holders. When Silver Yogi finally calms down, he pulls Gareki from the vines and questions why he bothered to protect Gareki. Gareki headbutts him and changes him back to Yogi. Gareki becomes curious about Silver Yogi's origins and Yogi's transformation and begins to question Dr. Akari, whom he feels is hiding something.

The next time Gareki encounters Silver Yogi is in the Varuga infested town in Merumerai, where Dr. Akari intentionally releases Silver Yogi to fight the Varuga. Before going out to fight, Silver Yogi takes notice of Gareki's injured arm, stating, "Poor guy, they got your arm. That's alright, I'll make them pay, but you still owe me for that headbutt back on Rinoll." Though, Silver Yogi never lashes out at Gareki, while he has no problem throwing Nai across the room after being ditched during a game of Hide and Seek.

Gareki's relationship with Tsukumo isn't as developed as it is with Yogi and Nai, but it is clear that he does care for her. At their first meeting, Gareki thought that Tsukumo was a typical weak and defenseless girl. As the bandits on the train attempted to attack her, he had panicked and yelled, "Stop! She's just a unarmed girl!" before she surprised him by beating them up. On occasion, he finds it annoying when she points out that she's a year older than him. During his time in Kuronomei, he mentions to Tsubame that he was worried about leaving Nai alone, but since Yogi and Tsukumo were with him, he should be fine. This shows how much he is able to trust Yogi and Tsukumo now, as well as his fondness for Nai.

Jiki has crush on Tsukumo, who is 4 years his junior. He is jealous of how much she cares for Gareki, although she looks at everyone in a friendly familial way, and tells Gareki to leave in Episode 10.

Iva cares for Gareki just like everyone else on the Second Ship. Despite being fifteen, Iva treats him like a little boy and even carried him in her arms like a princess, which caused extreme humiliation for Gareki. Unlike with Jiki or Yogi, however, Iva does not use violence on Gareki, and she has her own ways of causing Gareki to be embarrassed.

Kiichi and Gareki have a mild rivalry. Kiichi purposefully made Gareki and Nai clean up the whole First Ship while Tsukumo and Yogi were unable to be with him and Nai, and Gareki annoyed Kiichi by getting help from the bunnies. Like Jiki, Kiichi believes that Gareki is an outsider and should not be on the ship, but warms up to him as time goes on.

Gareki is grateful towards Tsubaki for rescuing him from starvation and taking him in. He cared deeply for her and was visibly upset at her death. He swore that if he ever found the person who had killed her, he would kill them. It was one of his main reasons to stay in Karasuna; however, he didn't get to kill the perpetrator because Hirato and Tsukitachi already took care of him.

His relationship with Yotaka was somewhat strained, as Yotaka was sometimes jealous of the attention Tsubaki and Tsubame would bestow upon Gareki. They were quite close, however, and Yotaka would occasionally give Gareki extra or thrown away parts of machinery for him to tinker with. After Gareki left, Yotaka went after him to convince him to come back. Gareki refused and threatened him to leave him alone, and they had been on rockier terms since. After Gareki came back with Yogi and Nai, he still acted cold towards him. Upon the discovery that Yotaka had become a Varuga, Gareki was conflicted because he knew that Yotaka could not be changed back to normal. Eventually Yotaka begged Gareki to kill him before he himself would kill his sister. Gareki gave in but was interrupted by Hirato who killed Yotaka by stabbing him through the chest. After Yotaka's death, Gareki would lock himself up in his room and just lay on his bed in depression.

Tsubame was very attached to Gareki and would look for him with Yotaka even when there wasn't a reason for it. Gareki was puzzled by this. Yotaka hid Gareki's lifestyle from her and she was left with the naive assumption that Gareki had "moved away". It was shown that she still thought of him and missed him because when she first woke from her Varuga trance, the first thing she whimpered was, "Save me... Gareki...!" After Yotaka's death she was convinced that Gareki didn't care for her and that was why he had left. She was proven otherwise when she realized that Gareki was the one paying for her Tsubaki, Tsubame, and grandfather's hospital fees. They met again in Kuronomei where they had a friendly rivalry as fellow students.

Hirato and Gareki first met in the train incident, and they have a comical relationship since then, with Hirato finding it amusing to tease Gareki, and the latter being frustrated by how easily he is tricked and cannot fight back. Hirato is one person whom Gareki absolutely refuses to call by name but rather by a nickname("Kuso Megane" or "Damn Four-Eyes"). However, Gareki acknowledges Hirato's strengths, and he somewhat grumpily asks Hirato how to get enrolled into a school. Hirato does care about Gareki, and he calls Gareki one of his kids, which Gareki hotly denies but ponders over later on. Hirato believes that Gareki has the potential to become a member of the Circus, and he is the one that made Gareki remain on the ship even after Gareki was kicked-out from the Circus course to the dismay of government heads.

It is hinted that Hirato may have known from the very beginning that Gareki was the boy who nearly died in the Kafka boat incident, and he felt somewhat gulity and responsible. Hirato enrolls Gareki in Kuronomei, with Hirato as a guardian.

Unlike with Hirato, Gareki properly addresses Tsukitachi by his name. Although Gareki still finds Tsukitachi's exuberance annoying and hard to keep up with, Tsukitachi is the first person whom Gareki asks regarding mechanisms behind Circus' bracelets and weapons. In return, Tsukitachi does not hesitate to tell him but is rather eager to reveal the secrets. it is shown that besides Yogi and Tsukumo, Tsukitachi is the only other person who does not hide anything from Gareki because he is an outsider who is not from Circus, and he trusts Hirato's decision to send Gareki to Kuronomei, hence showing that Tsukitachi acknowledges Gareki's abilities as well.